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| Nirvana is located at 191A Hoang Van Thu Street, HCMC’s Phu Nhuan District. A guest at the Nirvana Café in HCMC’s Phu Nhuan District - Photo: My Tran |
The use of antiques and rare art combined with a sensitive attention to lighting lend meaning to the name. It’s a great hideout for anyone who needs to chillout, away from the streets for a while.
Behind the entrance is a wall with insets for oil lamps and a small altar for worshipping the earth god. Under the shade of trees and banana leaves is a small music fountain stage which plays every night.
The walls are painted to look old. “The color is in harmony with the lighting, making the café peaceful and fanciful, especially at night,” said one of the staff.
It has also got a lot of interesting bric a brac, including antiques, old scooters, lamps, ceramic vases and terra-cotta statues and wooden artworks. The chairs don’t match and the tables and stairs are made from dark colored wood that goes with the red curtains, giving it that northern-tribe feel.
The cafe has three floors. Different areas are reached by walking across stepping stones in shallow ponds containing fish and wetland grasses.
“I come to the café when I am in the mood as it is really a nice space to relax,” said Vi, a regular customer.
The café is a combination of cultures from the colorful hanging lanterns of Hoi An hanging in the corridors and ceilings, linga and yoni statues of Cham culture, oil lamps and furniture of the north and modern lights of Western style.
